Still So Cappy

The family restaurant has served down-home goodness for more than three decades, and we keep coming back for more.

by JULIA CELESTE

Cappy and Suzy Lawton smile a lot at work. So does their son Trevor, who fills in as manager (and just about every other position) when needed. Not just because they love what they do—they’re also constantly greeting friends and making everyone comfortable.
Servers, their names embroidered on their chef coats, also bring a warm sense of neighborliness to the table. These quintessential elements of dining at Cappy’s Restaurant have sustained its success for 35 years.
That and consistently good food.
“When we opened in 1977 the place was smaller. We served lunch only, and had just three dishes daily—two hot and one cold,” Cappy says.
"We’d ask the staff and customers, ‘What was your favorite dish that your mother made?’ That would be our daily special—fried chicken, moussaka, German roulade, green enchiladas, you name it.”
Ultimately, the menu and venue, in a prime spot on Broadway, grew to what it is today: An upscale/casual American restaurant serving lunch, dinner and brunch that never disappoint.

First, Dessert

When the Lawtons travel, they return with culinary experiences to add to the menus of the three restaurants remaining under their umbrella: Cappy’s, Cappyccino’s and La Fonda on Main. “We stayed an extra two days at a lodge in Ireland just to charm the owner out of her recipe for sticky toffee pudding,” Cappy recalls. It was worth it. The spongy light apricot cake is soaked in cream and butter and topped with an auburn bourbon toffee sauce. He won’t divulge the recipe in honor of the woman who guarded it so well.
The classic Cappy’s chocolate cake doesn’t have such wide geographic roots. “That’s my mother’s recipe,” he explains. “When I opened Mama’s, we used quite a few of her recipes. That’s the only one we still use on a daily basis.” Laced with cinnamon and topped with a rustic fudge icing, the cake arrives warm with a side of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. Some folks go to Cappy’s just for that cake.
As spectacular as those two desserts are, the kitchen consistently delights with simple showcases of the season’s freshest fruits. Summer’s recent peach and blackberry explosion bestowed lucky Cappy’s diners with a fresh cobbler topped with a cakey biscuit dough. With a scoop of Blue Bell on top, melting into the dough, it’s a wistful excursion to sweet summer memories.

Classics and Other fine Things

Like many other established restaurateurs, Cappy knows what he can’t take off the menu, even—no, especially—after 35 years. At lunch, it’s a light plate of Country Club Chicken Salad, with fruit and veggie sides, and the Akaushi Bean Burger, with mashed black beans and crumbled corn chips.
Then there’s the popular lunch and dinner entree Mustang Chicken—tender pounded chicken breast coated with a crunchy zest of fresh horseradish, Parmesan and Panko, and artfully striped with ivory Dijon cream and red pepper coulis. Nor can he 86 the dinnertime Shrimp Nachos appetizer: house-made square corn chips topped with chunks of perfectly cooked shrimp, manchego gooeyness and serrano heat.
And there might be a riot if Cappy’s stopped serving the Australian rack of lamb atop firm, minty pea risotto, or the halibut crusted with house-made lemon-pepper potato chips. And oh, those plump chargrilled oysters that arrive in a puddle of spicy soy butter. Ask a Cappy’s regular and you’ll get a list of their “must haves.”

Long on Loyalty

“We’ve been buying produce from local farmers for 35 years,” Cappy says. “We make our own stocks, serve premium, mostly line-caught—and never frozen—fish, and only premium meats from Allen Brothers. That’s why we have loyal customers.”
So loyal, in fact, that some dine here four or five times a week, he says. “We now offer weekly entree specials, instead of daily specials so people can order it a few times during the week if they really like it.” Special appetizers are featured for two weeks, desserts monthly. “I’d put our executive chef, Gabriel Ibarra, up as one of the best chefs in the city,” he says with pride. “And Rob Flores, who makes all the desserts, has been with us for 21 years. The specials are their opportunity to shine even brighter. And they do.”
One delicious special is now a popular regular menu item. “After Hurricane Katrina, we started serving gumbo and donating $1 from every cup and $2 from every bowl to a Katrina relief fund. We’ve donated more than $15,000 to that fund. Now we don’t dare take it off the menu,” Cappy says.

Characteristic Charm

Inside, the wooded bi-level dining areas are open to quiet conversation and genial mingling. On the patio, mature oak trees spare diners from the searing sun but allow stars to twinkle through at night. There are few better places than this patio for brunch on a beautiful weekend morning.
After 35 years, the space still matches the personality of its owner and his guests. It’s a hometown neighborhood gem offering high standards served with a touch of nostalgia.

5011 Broadway, 828-9669, cappysrestaurant.com
Lunch and dinner daily; brunch Sun.
$$-$$$Owners: Cappy and Suzy LawtonExecutive Chef: Gabriel IbarraCuisine: American with Texas accentsAmbiance/Décor: Exposed brick and wood, with plenty of natural light, accented with colorful original art. Welcoming but not chatty; upscale but not stuffy.Reservations: RecommendedParking: Free, adjacent lot and street parkingDon’t miss: Full bar with large Single Malt Scotch selection. Try a “freeze” for dessert—an adult milkshake with ice cream and liqueur. Or end with a spiked coffee drink.